Raymond Taft -- nationally renowned swimmer and coach

Raymond F. Taft, a pioneer and champion in masters swimming, died Friday at Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City one month after suffering a stroke. He was 83.

Mr. Taft and his wife, Zada, taught three generations -- thousands of people -- how to swim at their family-run swim school in San Mateo. Mr. Taft also was a founder in the early 1970s of masters swimming -- competitive swimming for people age 19 and older. Throughout his career, he held scores of world and national records and won an equal number of national and international championships.

Mr. Taft suffered his stroke the day before he was scheduled to fly to Hawaii to compete in a national masters championship meet.

He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1996 in recognition of his individual accomplishments and his efforts on behalf of masters swimming. The Taft Swim School was named to the National Swim School Hall of Fame in 1996 as the longest operating family-run swim school in the nation. He also was inducted into the Balboa High School Sports Hall of Fame and the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame.

"When it comes to swimming, Ray Taft has done it all," began a 1997 profile in Swim Magazine by Lee Nessel.

A native of San Francisco, Mr. Taft began swimming in junior high school under the tutelage of another pioneering swim coach, the late Charlie Sava. He continued to swim through his four years at Balboa High School.

In 1936, while swimming at the Crystal Plunge in San Francisco, he met his wife-to-be, Zada, a moment she recalls with clarity, describing the way the light struck his athletic body.

"I knew he was for me," she said. "Not only was he a beautiful swimmer, he was a beautiful man."

They were married in 1941.

Mr. Taft became a top-flight backstroker, favoring that stroke, his son, Raymond J. Taft, said, "because the chlorine in the water was so bad he didn't want to swim face down."

In 1940, Mr. Taft had the fastest time in the world in the 100-meter backstroke, but was denied a chance to compete in the Olympics, which were canceled due to World War II.

After a stint in the U.S. Army, during which Mr. Taft often would swim alongside troop transports, he returned to the Bay Area. In 1955, with the aid of the GI Bill, he and his wife founded the Taft Swim School, now operated by his children.

At the urging of the parents whose children he taught, Mr. Taft in 1972 began the first masters swimming team in the United States, the San Mateo Master Marlins.

Mr. Taft held 15 age-group world records through May and 50 age-group U.S. records through February 2001 in events ranging from the 800-meter freestyle to the 400-meter individual medley. He was ranked first in the nation more than 210 times.

This year, Mr. Taft was ranked in the top 10 nationally for his age group in 11 events, including top rankings in four events.

As recently as April, at a Pacific region championship meet in Santa Cruz, Mr. Taft placed first in seven events and was the men's high-point scorer at the meet.

Many of his accomplishments came after quadruple bypass surgery in 1990.

"Even though time is precious and commitments to family and job are important and necessary, participate more," he told Swim Magazine in 1997. "You'll be better for it."

Mr. Taft is survived by his wife of 61 years, Zada, and three children, Lynne de Victoria of Cupertino, Raymond J. Taft of Half Moon Bay and Roy Taft of San Lorenzo, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A military funeral for Mr. Taft will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the San Joaquin National Cemetery near Gustine (Merced County).

A memorial will be held at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 3 at Joinville Swim Center, home pool of the San Mateo Master Marlins, 2111 Kehoe Ave., San Mateo.